The article "Looking Back At COVID's Authoritarian Regimes" by David R. Henderson criticizes the heavy restrictions on freedom imposed by the Trump administration and US governors during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, calling them authoritarian measures.[1] It argues that instead of broad lockdowns, the government could have focused resources on protecting high-risk groups like nursing home residents, which would have been a more targeted and less authoritarian approach.[1] The article suggests that officials like Dr. Deborah Birx extended lockdowns without initially having data to justify them, prioritizing their predetermined goals over evidence.[1] It contrasts this approach with the "Great Barrington Declaration" which advocated focused protection of the vulnerable rather than widespread lockdowns.[1]

Sources [1] Looking Back At COVID’s Authoritarian Regimes https://www.hoover.org/research/looking-back-covids-authoritarian-regimes [2] Sharp Power and Democratic Resilience Series https://www.ned.org/sharp-power-and-democratic-resilience-series-compromising-the-knowledge-economy/ [3] STANFORD–HOOVER SERIES ON AUTHORITARIANISM... https://www.sup.org/books/series/?series=STANFORD%E2%80%93HOOVER+SERIES+ON+AUTHORITARIANISM [4] COVID-19 accelerating 'democratic recession,' warns Larry Diamond https://stanforddaily.com/2020/04/30/covid-19-accelerating-democratic-recession-warns-larry-diamond/ [5] Hoover's push to suppress scientific collaboration - The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com/2022/01/10/from-the-community-trading-one-authoritarian-for-another-hoovers-push-to-suppress-scientific-collaboration/